On 20/09/2011 1:11 PM, Trevor Wilson wrote:
Sylvia Else wrote:
Has anyone here tried retrofitting low ESR capacitors to CFLs with a
view to improving their turn-on performance - i.e. so that they reach
full brightness quickly?

Sylvia.

**The full brightness thing is not associated with the electronics. It's an
issue with the gas in the tube and, to a lesser extent, the phosphor
coating. You can prove this for yourself, by measuring the light output of a
standard (iron ballast) fluoro. Light output gradually increases over a few
seconds (or minutes, depending on ambient temperature).

Don't sweat it anyway, LEDs will replace them in most applications very
soon. I've been mucking about with a couple of these recently:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/12w-350...p-12-14v-80310

It delivers almost double the light output of an 11 Watt T5 fluoro and is
far more compact, dimmable and has nicer colour temperature.


Having got used to the higher colour temperatures of CFLs, I find that I
prefer them.

Incandescents weren't given a lower colour temperature because people
preferred them, it was just the way they came out. If the first
practical domestic electric lights had been of daylight colour
temperature, I imagine that's what everyone would always have wanted,
and people would have given short shrift to this yellow rubbish.

However, I note that the led emitter strips are available in higher
colour temperatures.

Sylvia.